Coaching Model: The Metta

A Coaching Model Created by Jonathan Hermida
(Transformational Coaching, United States)

Metta is an ancient term meaning loving-kindness or a strong desire for the well being of others.  I chose this name for my practice because it represents everything I try to represent and bring into the coaching relationship. I believe very deeply in the transformational process and I believe coaching is a powerful source of support for people looking to fully integrate their life with their highest beliefs and aspirations. This model is an extension of that and represents my coaching approach.

As a visual I chose the image of a “heartbeat monitor.” My coaching approach relies on tuning in and listening to the pulse of my clients, letting them dictate the direction of the coaching session. There is no set flow or structure here. It’s about constantly meeting clients where they are, allowing their pulse to dictate the outcome of the coaching session. Sometimes the clients are in a flow, experiencing deep breakthroughs, while other times they feel stuck, experiencing difficult emotions. This model tries to represent those highs and lows that are a natural part of the coaching process and life itself.

The model breaks down as follows:

 M- Meet Mindfully

This is where the client and the coach begin merging into one. The coach meets the clients exactly where they are, listening closely to what the client is bringing to the session. Here the coach gets clear on the client’s intent and direction, mirroring back what the client has brought up in the moment. This helps ground the client in their purpose, allowing them the space to “meet themselves” exactly where they are as well. The coach comes into this space without judgment, creating a strong coaching presence where the client can comfortably explore everything that needs to be explored. Like every other step in this model, this step is recurring and ongoing throughout the coaching conversation.

E- Explore

Here the client begins to explore their deepest desires, fears, obstacles and opportunities. This is a space where the client has free reign to go wherever they feel comfortable. The coach is simply there to present the doors that become available to the client, asking them which door they would like to enter and explore.

T- Think and Feel

Here the client is getting a deeper understanding of their present situation. They’re using all of their senses, including their mind to go into the juice of what’s coming up for them. The coach will listen intently to what’s being said and not said so that they can properly navigate the client through this terrain. The use of powerful questions is very important here so that the client can reflect and/or feel what’s really going on for them. Coaching presence is vital, especially when the client is experiencing strong feelings and emotions. Coaches need to be comfortable in this uncomfortable space of feelings and emotions in order to truly support the client.

T- Trust/ Transcend

Here’s where it really opens up. The transformation process is not linear. There aren’t always action steps to take or concrete outcomes to be had. As coaches, this space is about mindfully meeting the client where they are, allowing their own inner process to unravel on it’s own. At times this means the clients transcend their own barriers, experiencing deep, life-altering insights. Other times, this means that deep-rooted, underlying beliefs start surfacing. Trust is the key for both client and coach here. The trust that has been developed and nurtured in the coaching relationship becomes the anchor the client can rely on during these times. The client and coach must also deeply trust and believe in the coaching process itself for there to be transcendence out of that often messy and difficult space.

A- Appreciate, Accept, Acknowledge

This is an ongoing process where the coach mirrors and acknowledges the client so that they can appreciate and accept where they are in the present moment. Through the trust built in the prior step, the client starts to accept where they are in the moment even if that means that “progress” has not been made or that difficulty is arising. The coach can use their own experience to reassure the client that it’s all part of the process and that it’s okay to feel whatever it is that they are feeling. Through the coaches reflections a client can also begin to appreciate the effort they are putting forth, as well as the progress they are indeed making.

As a “heart beat monitor” is constantly flowing so too is this model. It is alive, cycling through the process over and over again for the life of the coaching relationship.